One of the chief reasons I came to France over 15 years ago was to discover and savor a way of life that makes every day a little bit sweeter and a little more bearable, even when life deals us some tough blows. The French call it art de vivre or the art of living. It’s an expression that was not only coined by the French but has had a hard time being exported to other shores.

Perhaps it could only have been invented in France–a country which boasted a monarch like Louis XIV who set the tone for every other monarch in Europe. After all, it was under his long reign, that chocolate, coffee, champagne, comic theatre, marquetry furniture, diamonds and wigs made of human hair, became all the rage.

The French penchant for fine living has touched every aspect of human pleasure and luxury, whether it’s gastronomy, fashion, sport, leisure, and conversation. The French were the first to invent literary salons; the first to stage lavish outdoor operas at Versailles complete with ballet and fireworks; the first to have runway fashion shows and designers as celebrated as rock stars; the first to grade restaurants with one, two and three stars; the first to create coveted global brands  such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Goyard and Christian Dior.

But luxury is not the same as “art de vivre” although they can be complementary.  An art de vivre as I understand it, is appreciating not just the finer things in life–but life tout court. It begins with appreciating the every day, starting with that first cup of coffee over breakfast. Some French people have a ritual: breakfast in bed, not just on Mother’s Day, but every day of the week. Why not wake to soft music and bring your partner breakfast on a tray along with the morning paper? A little bit of room-service pampering starts my day for the past eight years.

Why not take time to get up early and walk to work, even in winter, if you can. It’s a moment to admire the early dawn and the facades of buildings set off by the tall bare branches of trees. Why not have a lovely clean office with a tall green plant, blue carpet, while walls and white furniture, as well as some of your favorite art work. On one wall, a white bookcase stocked with books, and decorated with cherished postcards from friends and clients, a reminder of the people beyond, who have marked your existence.

While I often eat at my desk, I try to find at least one or two days a month when I take time out to have a delicious meal with either someone on my staff or a friend. I love the stimulation of a luncheon debate with an intriguing guest speaker–I know it is something I will remember for some time to come.

I love taking time out to listen to jazz and classical music at home and savor a terrific book by a roaring fire. I have the pleasure and privilege of doing both. I love going to an elegant place like the Hotel Costes for a late afternoon tea, knowing that I can sit there for hours in an Old World setting that makes me feel like I am living in a Visconti movie.

I like the chance to meet other French artists and artisans through a walking tour of Belleville or Ménilmontant–seeing how they work and live. This is the secret face of Paris–and part of its art de vivre.

Paris is a city of 2.3 million people which receives over 40 million individual visitors a year. It is also probably the best run city in the world, which is why it is so envied and adulated. “Oh you live in Paris!” New Yorkers exclaim everytime I return to the Big Apple. “You’re so lucky.” I know.

But today, we live in a global village–at least on the Internet. We can share the secrets of French art de vivre and adopt it to our own lives. I know a single woman in Paris who sits down alone every night she is home to a meal cooked and served by herself on fine china with a cloth napkin. She would never dream of eating ice cream out of the carton sitting in front of the television set.

Last week, at a holiday cocktail party, I filled a tall glass vase with tall leafy branches dipped in silver and surrounded them long-stem white roses. On the black pear-wood table in the entrance to our home, the effect was stunning. Two weeks earlier I went to a birthday celebration, where the young hosts had rented a portable illuminated bar staffed by two fabulous bartenders who could make everything from a Mojito to a daiquiri.

Last month, I organized an engagement weeked for a couple that included arranging for them to stay in the single en-suite bedroom in a mansion overlooking the Eiffel Tower. One evening, a private chef came to cook them a sumptuous meal with wine that cost less, much less, than they would have paid at the fabled Jules Verne. That too is art de vivre.

This blog is my chance to share what I have learned and continue to learn from the French, and what I hope to share with readers from around the world. I hope you will join me with your ideas and comments, and that together we will find ways to enhance the lives of people near and far.

And as our French Presidents would say: Vive la France! and I would add: Vive la Différence!

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